Angel Standing By (Walk Away)
by Amanda Mancini
Summary: "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care." D/G - G/D
1. Never

**Title:** Angel Standing By (Walk Away)**  
Author:** Amanda Mancini (_thefreakygeek@hotmail.com_)**  
Rating:** PG-13 **  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Summary:** "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."   
**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Publishers, and Warner Bros. The song _Angel Standing By _belongs to Jewel. Idea of 'grunge style robes' for the Weird Sisters is from Heidi's _Surfeit of Curses _and used without permission. No profit is being made from this piece of fanfiction.  
**Author's Note:**Dedicated to Sabrina Rosa Rodin, still my favourite cousin, as well as all the members of DracoGinnyFanfic and Penumbra_fic for their help and support.

Angel Standing By _(Walk Away)  
_Chapter I: Never

Ginny Weasley remembered a time when she'd always smile. Even when she was unhappy, which hadn't been very often, she would smile because the mere action would make her feel better. Not to mention that everyone would think she was happy and they'd be happy too. They'd all be happy _together_.

Even though Ginny still smiled, she wasn't happy anymore. In fact, Ginny hadn't been happy for over three years. Ever since she'd been manipulated by the evil Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in her first year. Her brothers had all recounted their favourite tales of the school, but Ginny would never look back at Hogwarts fondly.

Bill had been the cool one: one of the rare, intelligent non-conformists. Charlie was the Quidditch Captain, and went down in Hogwarts history as one of it's best seekers. Percy was... well, Percy. Perfect Percy, top marks. They were a lot to be compared to, yet Fred and George stood out. They were funny, and everybody liked them. And Ron, he had it the best! He was friends with Harry Potter. He was famous for driving the family car into the Whomping Willow!

Ginny, she was nothing but the baby girl of the family. she was the only one who helped her mother with the household chores, becasue dusting and cleaning were girly jobs. And it wasn't like de-gnoming the garden was hard enough so that all the boys had to do it... Or maybe it was. If only they'd let her try and decide for herself.

The more time passed, the more burdens and stresses presented themselves to her: she was growing up. In that one summer before her fourth year, Ginny didn't really notice when she became so self-concious anout hersef, her looks, her actions. It just happened. that way. And it was always worse when _he_ was around.

"Hey Ginny!" Harry had told her as he and Ron made their way to her brother's bedroom.

"Hi!" she'd always answer over-enthusiastically, cursing the devil for always making her blush like that when he was around. She hated her redness with a passion (as if the hair wasn't enough) and sometimes forced herself to avoid him, Harry, just to save herself from the embarassment. But of course, it didn't stop her from sneaking peeks from the corner of her eyes.

Strange, how Harry didn't seem all that different from last summer. The Weasleys had all expected him to be depressed and passive, but it was like he acted as if nothing ever happened at the Tri-Wizard Tourament. But no matter how Harry tried to fool them, Ginny noticed the veil of paranoia that fell over him when in a public or open place. She saw it Diagon Alley: She'd been admiring him from behind when she realised just how often he'd smooth his unruly bangs onto his forehead, over his scar.

He must have felt someones eyes on him, or perhaps he was just being paranoid again, but at that very moment we whipped around and caught her staring straight at him. Feeling the redness crawling into her cheeks (again) she quickly looked away, embrarrassed, only to see that just across the road through the window of another store someone was staring at her. She saw that pompous Draco Malfoy sneer at her maliciously and turn away. He didn't need words to taunt her.

_"I guess Potter didn't like your valentine!" _Ginny shuddered and pushed the memory away as she trudged into Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour to buy something that would cheer her up.

But just because he didn't need words didn't mean he wouldn't use them, though. In fact, only a week after the start of the school term, Draco cornered her as she'd been making her way (alone) to Potions.

"Still gawking after Potter, little Weasel? What, do you think he'd actually _care _about _you_?"

She glared at him, and would have tried to throw something back at him if he hadn't straightened his robes to better display the prefect badge that had been sewn to them. It was a threat: Ginny would have lost Gryffindor points by defending herself (no doubt Malfoy would have lied about her,) so instead she just ran off to her destination while trying to keep the tears behind her eyes. It was for the better, she decided, since she'd never been good at comebacks and would have embarrassed herself more anyways.

Ginny never really remembered Malfoy having been so nasty to her before. Sure, he'd picked on her because she was a Weasley, but he spent a lot more time fighting with Ron. It hurt when she realised that her brother hadn't even noticed the abuse she was going through. Not him or Harry or even Hermione were around her long enough to see, and that was only something more for Malfoy to point out.

"Why doesn't your _big brother _help you out, little Weasel?" he drawled "Are hero Potty or Mudblood going to fly in and rescue you?" Those were the comments that hurt the most even compared to the insults to her family because deep down, Ginny wondered the same thing. Determined not to show weakness, Ginny would always just hold her head high, pretend she hadn't heard him and walk away.

It's too bad that method didn't always work. Sure, it was fine when Malfoy would be in the library only an aisle away from her, nudging towards Harry and sneering at her. But one evening mid-October, as she'd been on her way to The Great Hall, he went too far. She'd been walking with (or, rather, _behind_) her brother and his friends, and Malfoy had actually hd the guts to grab her sharply by the wrist and pull her so quickly into an empty classroom that she didn't even have the time to make a sound.

"Now now, Red, do you actually think that by tailing Potty he'll notice you."

That had been the final straw. Maybe it was because she was because she'd just dealt with him too much, or maybe it was because her wrist hurt, but either way it made her do something she'd never done before.

Ginny attacked him.

Well, _attacked _maybe isn't the right word. She angrilly pulled her wrist from Malfoy's grasp, and then pushed him in the chest with all the force she could muster. From the look of utter disbelief embedded on his pale face, you could just see that this was _not _what he'd been expecting from _Little Weasel._

"Stop it!" she hollered, unable to keep herself from crying "Why can't you just leave me alone! Why do you do to this to me? What did I ever do to you?!"

Draco just stared blankly at her and sputtered something incomprehensible, unable to think of anything he could answer her with. By that point, Ginny had expelled what she'd been holding in for all those months and was now on empty. An awkward silence settled between them for a few moments until Ginny turned around and made her way to the door. But just as reached out for the doorknob, she felt Draco's hand grasp her should and gently spin her around.

"Don't _cry_," he told her, his voice softening (but only a bit.) "I just don't see why you're always chasing after some prat who'll never notice you. You're too good for Potter, Ginny. You deserve better." Face still expressionless, he reached to her face to wipe a tear away with his thumb. She jerked her head away before he could.

"Shut up, _Malfoy_." She stepped as far away from him as she could, which was only two paces away with her back pressed against the think wooden door. "You don't underst-"

"How do you know whether or not I understand?" he interupted sourly. "_You're _the one who doesn't understand, because I know _exactly _what you're doing. I know _exactly _what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they _cared_. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll _never _care." For those three seconds Draco had looked her straight in the eye, and in those three seconds, Ginny had seen more emotion then she'd ever thought him capable of. He turned sharply and pulled open the door, which sent her flying, and left. 


	2. Too Many Thoughts

**Title:** Angel Standing By (Walk Away)**  
Author:** Amanda Mancini (_thefreakygeek@hotmail.com_)**  
Rating:** PG-13 **  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Summary:** "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."   
**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Publishers, and Warner Bros. The song _Angel Standing By _belongs to Jewel. Idea of 'grunge style robes' for the Weird Sisters is from Heidi's _Surfeit of Curses _and used without permission. No profit is being made from this piece of fanfiction.  
**Author's Note:**Dedicated to Sabrina Rosa Rodin, still my favourite cousin, as well as all the members of DracoGinnyFanfic and Penumbra_fic for their help and support.

Angel Standing by _(Walk Away)  
_Chapter II: Too Many Thoughts

"What's wrong with your elbow, Ginny?"

_Oh no... _Ginny thought as she turned to answer Hermione.

"Umm... I.. hurt it?" she offered, smiling weakly. Ron and Harry looked up from their divination homework, on which they'd been..._ working_ on.

"Is there something wrong?" Her brother's eyes narrowed, like he could sense something was amiss. Damn, as if her mother wasn't enough to explain to. She _knew _she was beet red once she felt Harry's eyes on her, which must make her look even _more _guilty, so Ginny searched her mind for a better excuse that would shut them up.

"Oh, you see, I was in a rush to get to class a few days ago and ran out of my dorm so fast that I hot my elbow on it. It still hurts a bit."

"Ow," Harry commented, wincing. "I hate it when that happens."

Ginny sighed in relief because the last thing she wanted to do right now was talk. _Especially_ about the events of last week. Every waking moment, the scene flashed through her head, and all night the same voice repeated itself over and over, "_I know exactly what it's like. He'll never notice and he'll never c_-"

Suddenly, Alicia Spinnet (who was one of the sixth year prefects) stood on a chair and cleared her throat. Everyone in the commonroom quietened down and awaited her announcement.

"At the last few Prefects meetings," she said, "Professor Dumbledore brought up that he'd recieved many owls from parents asking to keep the students at school for Christmas vacation for.. uh.. _safety _reasons. "

_Safety reasons. Right. _Ginny thought. No doubt that any parents had taken Dumbledore's warning about Voldemort seriously, and felt it was safer if they stayed at Hogwarts. Ginny was ready to bet everything she owned that her own mother had been one of those parents. _But He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hurt Harry even though he was at Hogwarts. He hurt me._

Alicia continued on. "We, the Prefects, all thought that there would be many who would have rather have gone home for the holidays, so we tried to think of an activity that would encourage students to stay. So, in the end, after the great success of last years Yule Ball, we decided to have another one!"

"It's going to be a masquerade," Hermione further explained, standing up. "Sort of medieval themed. Over the next few weeks we'll learn different spells that along with our costumes will conceal our identity at the ball. The idea is to go dateless, find someone there, and then reveal yourself at the end of the night. And Gladrags in Hogsmeade will be giving us our robes for free. We'll all have appointments for fittings during Hogsmeade Weekends."

"The rules have changed a bit: This year _third _years and up will be able to attend. To make it fair, the first and second years will be allowed a special Hogsmeade trip." Alicia stepped down from her chair, and threw Hermione a thumbs up as she sank back into her chair while the Gryffindors all cheered. Well, _almost _all of them cheered. Ron looked pretty sour.

"Hermione, you could have _warned _us that there was going to be another dance," he said darkly. Harry guffawed.

"Don't worry on, there'll be better choice of robes this time," he said as he patted his red haired friend on the back. "I wonder why Gladrags would give away free costumes?"

"Who CARES?" Fred burst out loudly behind them.

"Yeah!" his twin agreed. "Why complain about a good thing?"

"Well, it _was_ a good idea, though," Ron admitted. "At least we don't have to go through the torture of finding dates."

"Herm, why didn't you tell us sooner, though?" Harry added as an afterthought.

"Yeah, what good is having a best friend who's a prefect if she doesn't give you the inside information?"

"Oh, come on!' she retorted. "It's not like you wouldnt have found out eventually."

"Oh, _eventually._"

"Ron!"

"Well, how long did you know about it?"

"Only a few weeks!"

"Only a _few_," Ron mocked again, causing Hermione to glare, throw her Ancient Runes textbook at him and leave in a huff.

"Way to go, Ron," Harry muttered grinning.

"Ow..." he answered, looking at the book and then to Harry and Ginny while rubbing his head. "Who said words don't hurt?"

As promised, little over two weeks later (which had been _far _to late for some people, Ginny noticed) an indigo colored owl no larger than her hand arrived with her Gladdrags appointment. Royal purple ink on a piece of parchment read:

_Miss Virginia Weasley  
Please note that your costume fitting appointment has been scheduled for:  
Saturday December 13th at 12:30 PM with Gladiola Hankypuff.  
Until then, start thinking about what costume you'd like!  
Our talented Witches and Wizards at Gladrags   
will help you create your dream costume when you get here._

_Talented? _Ginny thought. _Dream costume? It sounds more like an overly chipper newspaper add._

"Is that your fitting appointment Ginny?" Hermione asked her from across the the Gryffindor table as a simmilar owl, only bright orange, flew away from her. Ginny nodded.

"December 13th at 12:20, you?"

Hermione smiled. "November 22nd. And at 11:00."

At that, she, Ron and Harry stood and picked up their bookbags, ready to leave. Ginny looked up at them curiously, more so at Harry who'd begun searching through his bookbag.

"I _hate _having double potions first thing," Ron scowled, looking as though he'd not quite woken up yet.

"We'd better be on our way," Hermione said rolling her eyes at Ginny. "Come on Harry, we don't want to lose points for being late."

"Well, knowing Snape, we'd lose points for being early," Ron muttered.

"No, you guys go ahead and I'll catch up," Harry said, looking up from his bookbag. "I forgot some of my potions kit refills in my trunk."

"Better hurry," Ron grinned.

"Harry, can I come with you? I have to g-get my Defense things."

"Sure," he smiled at her.

_Thank Merlin's Beard, he didn't notice me stutter._

The four Gryffindors stood, separated, and left the Great Hall, and Ginny was thrilled. She couldn't believe she was walking by herself, alone, with _Harry. _Like in all the times she'd imagined it, how he'd stop suddenly, pull her into his arms, lift her chin up and -

"So what's up?" Harry (the real one) gave a stab at conversation. Ginny jerked herself from her fantasy and could just feel the blood rushing to her face. _Answer him before he thinks you're stupid!_

"Oh, um, nothing much. I've just had stuff on my mind. Too many thoughts." She shrugged and threw him a weak smile.

"Too many thoughts," Harry chuckled, and for a moment, Ginny thought she's said something wrong, but he continued. "You know, the first time someone told me they had too many thoughts, I didn't understand them. Funny how things can change in justa few months, eh?" He smiled at her despite the hidden story that must have been behind those words, and with eyes like that, she couldn't help but smile back.

"So how about this year's ball? Is that one of those thoughts? Rons awfully relieved that he won't have to find a date.. so am I, actually... What about you? Had you been worried about going with Neville again?"

Ginny shuddered ever so subtly. "Er... just a _little_. At least this year no one will know who you are. And what if you _don't _take your mask off at the end of the night? Will no one find out who you are?"

"I have _no idea _what my costume's going to be," groaned Harry.

"What? How can you _not _have any ideas? There are so many for guys! A Knight, or a King -"

"Well..." Harry winced. "I don't want people to get the wrong impression. I don't have _that_ big of an ego, do I? I mean, I'm not, say, _Malfoy_."

She saw him just as Harry said his name, the flash of platinum hair as they passed an opening to another hallway, and he as looking straight at her.

"So Ginny, what do you plan on going as?" Harry was completely oblivious to the third listener. Meanwhile, Ginny was still struck dumb. The last thing she'd expected was to see Malfoy looking at her like that, especially after their last encounter. But there he was. He wasn't scowling, or sneering, or mocking her. he just held her eye and shook his head in what seemed like... _dissapointment._

"... I don't know yet..." she said, answering Harry, but still unable to tear herself away from those cold eyes.

"What, and you thought it was bad that _I _didn't have any ideas for _myself? _You should be a fire sprite. Or an angel."

_An angel? _Malfoy mouthed, his face contorting into a mocking grin. Ginny felt the heat in her face rise.

Her uneasy silence caused caused Harry to look in her direction, only to see she wasn't looking at him, but elsewhere... His smile immediately fell when his eyes set upon the Slytherin.

"What are _you _staring at, Malfoy?"

"Nothing, absolutely _nothing_." Draco Malfoy answered cooly, raising his nose into the air.

"Never thought you'd stoop to eavesdropping. Can you go any lower?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" Malfoy countered angrilly. "I can't help it if you and your trail-along puppy dog are talking loud enough for the school to hear you."

"Leave Ginny out of this!"

"Make me!"

Ginny couldn't believe what she was seeing. Both harry and Malfoy stood facing each other with their wands drawn and faces solemn. This could get serious, and Ginny didn't want to get involved.

"Stop it!" she shreiked. "Don't _you _have a class to go to?" Draco took a step backwards away from her and Ginny grabbed Harry's wrist in order to tear his attention away from his enemy.

"Come on, Harry, let's go or we'll be late."

"Ginny, that git called you-"

"I don't care, Harry, and neither should you. Just walk away, you don't need to fight to prove you're better."

With one last glare at Malfoy, Harry nodded at her and they departed without another word. Draco couldn't help but sneer as he watched them dissapear around the corner, noting how she never had let go of his arm.

A special thank you goes out to all of my reviewers! You're the inspiration of the writer!

**panchan_14**, **banana_malfoy**, **zephyra**,

**Shani: **I'm glad you love D/G, because I spent quite a while loving it before I began writing it. Maybe you will too? Anyways, don't expect any making out soon... Not until maybe the fourth or fifth chapters. Just so that you know, I'm writing as quickly as I can! I began Chapter 3 before I even posted this one. 


	3. Unveil The Mask

**Title:** Angel Standing By (Walk Away)**  
Author:** Amanda Mancini (_thefreakygeek@hotmail.com_)**  
Rating:** PG-13 **  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Summary:** "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."   
**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Publishers, and Warner Bros. The song _Angel Standing By _belongs to Jewel. Idea of 'grunge style robes' for the Weird Sisters is from Heidi's _Surfeit of Curses _and used without permission. No profit is being made from this piece of fanfiction.  
**Author's Note:**Dedicated to Sabrina Rosa Rodin, still my favourite cousin, as well as all the members of DracoGinnyFanfic and Penumbra_fic for their help and support.  


Angel Standing by _(Walk Away)  
_Chapter III: Unveil The mask

"Oh, hello Hagrid. Awfully chilly day, isn't it?"

Hagrid wheeled around but smiled when he saw it was just Ginny there. "Yeh startled me!" he chuckled as he gave a look around. "I've had so many other things on meh mind, I haven't had the time ter notice the weather... It looks like winter's finally on it's way. Where're yeh off ter on a day like this?"

"Just for a walk." She smiled and nodded politely as the half-giant made his excuses, that he couldn't talk and was on his way, and Ginny was okay with that. To tell the truth, she was used to it and actually liked the time alone. This really was her favourite season at Hogwarts, when there was only a bit of powdery snow on the ground and the grass was still poking through. All the trees' branches were a frosty silver and everytime there'd be a gust of wind, the snow would fly into the air into your hair and eyelashes. For Ginny, it was all so refreshing and there was nothing she enjoyed more then taking a walk on the school grounds and sit by the lake for a while, even if it took a quarter-hour to get there. And as she climbed her favourite tree -a giant elm- and sat on the branch that almost held her over the lake, she had a perfect view of the flying Gryffindors practicing in the Quidditch Pitch, particularly a certain seeker who was flying far above the rest.

~

For the beginning of December, the weather was surprisingly mild, not many bothered to take the time to notice _that_. They'd been far too busy thinking about other things. The last month had been spent learning all sorts of charms and transfigurations that would help them with their costumes. There was one that they'd be using on their masks that would stop others from recognising your voice, and a simmilar one for your face should you not have a very large mask. Unfortunately, the teachers assured that they would be immune to these spells and would severely penalize those who didn't follow the rules. It still sent chills up Ginny's spine when she heard Fred and George whispering about how 'useful' those spells would be...

~

_"Oh Ginny, you have to come with me!" Hermione had said._

_"Oh... what's wrong with Ron?" I'd answered her. "Or Harry? Why _me_?"_

_"You know I can't take them to look at girls' clothes!" she'd laughed back. "I need a female opinion, and you're the only other girl I'd ever talk to about these kinds of things!"_

_"Hermione, I'm no good at choosing robes! You know I've never had the chance to pick nice ones before!"_

_"You helped me get ready for the Yule Ball last year, and everything turned out perfect! Well, almost..." she'd added as an after-thought, "but i couldn't have done it without you. Please? Come with me?"_

_I couldn't help but blush. It was hard to believe that _Hermione Granger _needed help with _anything_, let alone considered me a friend. But I was flattered._

_"Oh, alright," I had groaned._

_Only a few hours later I found myself, completely speechless, in Hogsmeade with her in front of the Gladrags building. A blond, lanky witch by the name of Batty Croaker who smelled unusually like cake mix had led us inside through mazes of colorful hallways, past doors that read "Fall Colours", "Fall Textures", and "Left-Over Maple Syrup." I'd even peeked in one that looked like it had the grunge-syle clothes the Weird Sisters had worn last year._

_Finally, we were lead through a door labeled 'Hogwarts Students' . Inside, it looked an awful lot like Madam Malkin's only much _much _larger, with rows and rows of fabrics that could have outnumbered the shelves in Howarts Library. And that's saying something._

_"So," Batty had said. "Which of you two will I be outfitting today?" Almost hesitantly, 'Mione raised her hand and was whisked through the different aisles, Hermione pulling me close behind, showing us hundreds of photos and samples of what could be our 'dream costume.'_

By the time December 13th and Ginny's own Gladrags appointment rolled around, Ginny had given her costume a lot of thought. And because she'd already seen what was being offered, she could clearly see it in her mind. Gladiola Hankypuff turned to be a... erm.. much _calmer _person then Miss. Croaker.Younger too, which made Ginny feel all the more confident about how she'd turn out. She couldn't help but grin stupidly as she adjusted her halo, straightened her wings, and span around making the flowy silver white fabric of her robes fan out just like the dresses of the spanish dancers she'd seen in a photo Gladiola showed her.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," Gladiola admired, eyes twinkling. And for the first time ever, Ginny actually felt it.

~

The evening of the 21st had come quickly and Ginny had miraculously managed to keep her costume a secret. What she _really_ wanted to do was surprise everyone at the ball. She couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out it was her. Sure, Ron and Hermione _tried _to get it out of her, and Ginny was worried that maybe 'Mione felt hurt since she hadn't invited her to Gladrags, but that'd hadn't been the intention.

Hermione did end up seeing Ginny's costume before the ball. Ginny needed help when she'd accidentally gotten one of her wings stuck in the zipper of her robes.

"Great Merlin, Ginny! You look amazing!" she'd exclaimed after they got the 'disaster' sorted out. Ginny felt her face turn all sorts of colors and was glad that all of the other fourth year girls had left early. "And your mask!" Hermione gushed, picking it up and holding it to her face. "It goes wonderfully with your wings! These feathers are so adorable!"

"Stop it, Herm," she muttered as the fifth year returned the mask, smiling.

"Are you almost ready? As soon as I find my shoes, I'm done."

"Did you check under the bed?" Ginny joked as she turned to look at herself in the mirror, charming her mask to hover in front of her face. It really was a nice costume, when she thought about it, and made her look prettier than she actually was (probably because the mask hid those awful freckles and the dress made her body look fuller) but there was still something wrong...

"Well?"

"Um, Herm, I'll meet you down at the ball later. I've got to do something about my hair."

"Gin, no one will recognise your red hair once the spells have been put into place."

"But Herm, _I'll _know."

"Alright," Hermione accepted, not quite understanding. "I'll see you later then."

From her reflection in the mirror, Ginny watched Hermione leave the room after pulling a pair of brown shoes from under her bed. Ginny crept over to the door and pressed her ear against it, waiting a few moments, hearing her friend hum a tune as she left the emptycommon room through the portrait.

_Yes, finally, _she thought to herself as she treked out of hers into the fifth year dorm, to a bed belonging to a girl named Parvarti Patil. From underneath it she pulled out a stack of _Teen Witch _magazines that she remembered hearing Hermione complain about.

"Alright," Ginny whisered to herself resolutly. "There's got to be _something _useful in here."

Ginny settled on charming her hair to match her costume; a shining platinum-blond. Twisting it back and pinning it up, she finaly felt ready to go.

The merry sound of bells could be heard all around the school, accompanied by music as you got closer to the Great Hall. An orchestra of wood sprites were playing a series of Christmas carrols with their flutes and string instruments. So the ball had started already... Ginny began to walk faster.

Upon entering the Great Hall, Ginny realised just how different the ball would be this year. The tables had been pushed along the sides of the room bearing bowls and plates filled with various finger foods and drinks. Near them were small tables that could only seat four at the most. By the looks of it, there wouldn't be a large meal, they'd just be munching on things all night.

The decorations were stupefying, and there was no better way to describe it. Glittering garlands cascaded across the ceiling and mistletoe with wings was flying through the air, just waiting to hover above two unsuspecting "victims". Tables were covered in shimmering red, green, and white cloths with Saint Nick and Evergreen center pieces. The hall was dim and most of the light came from the enchanted starlit ceiling.

Ginny entered in awe, slowly taking in all the different costumes, each as beautiful and elaborate as the next. Two impressive looking knights with some red hair sticking out from under their helmets were poking each other with dull spears. Actually, as you may have guessed, these were Fred and George Weasley's costumes but Ginny, being enchanted, didn't realize that. Nor did anyone else. Next to them was a brightly colored court jester who would tap one on the shoulder with a loud 'tang!' only so the harassed night would blame the other. Not far away from them was.. a large yellow canary! No, Ginny realised after taking a second look, I was someone dressed as a toad who had eaten a canary cream.

Ginny quietly took a seat where the Ravenclaw table normally would have been, looking at the couples who were already dancing. For a moment, Ginny thought that maybe she _should _have gotten a date beforehand, even though it was against the point. At least she wouldn't have sat there, feeling lonely with nothing to do.

It was then that she noticed the three figures sitting where the Gryffindor table normally was and right away recognised Hermione in her 'Maid Marian' costume. She was holding hands with someone who seemed to be dressed as a minstrel, holding a mandolin in his other hand. Ginny smiled half hoping it was Ron, since she knew how long they'd had a crush on each other. But only half hoped, since she didn't want to have to admit that her brother had worn _tights_ to the masquerade ball. It was at these times she didn't understand Hermione and her.. um.. _tastes_...

Ginny stood and straightened her dress, deciding that she might as well 'introduce' herself to them so she wouldn't waste the night by herself. A flash of red from their direction suddenly caught her attention and Ginny looked up. It seemed as though someone _had _noticed her. A wave. Someone was waving to hear, wearing the most beautiful costume she'd seen so far. He (_It has to be a he,_ she reasoned, _with a body like that_) wore deep red robes that were almost _glowing_ in red and orange, even blue in some parts. Fine, long feathers cascaded down his back, shimmering with flames even though nothing was actually burning. The blazing copper and gold beaked mask looked straight at her, and the phionex waved.

_Wow, _Ginny thought stupidly as she waved back. _That must be Harry. _It made more sense that he'd recognise her since he was the one who gave her the idea for a costume.

Harry nudged Ron-in-tights in the side and pointed in her direction. Hermione finally turned away fro him to see why his mouth was hanging open. As soon as she saw Ginny, she gave her a thumbs-up as Ron just looked at her, flabbergasted.

_I wish I knew what he was thinking. _Ginny didn't think she's ever recieved a compliment from her brother but the sight of him gaping at her like that made it all worthwhile. She sighed, relieved, when he (and Hemione, and _Harry_) began walking towards her. _If he tells me to change, I'm going to kill him._ The idea of them actually wanting to spend time with her made her feel all tingly, just because she remembered how they hadn't really cared at the beginning of the year.

It took her a few seconds to realise that she _wasn't imagining _the tingly feeling. Shivers ran up Ginny's spine and she turned her head to see that someone was tracing the outlike of her wings. She could actually _feel _their breath at the back of her neck. Turing completely, she found herself to face with an elegant scarlet Chinese Fireball. The mask had a crown of golden spikes and from it, in a voice she couldn't recognise, came:

"Could I have this dance?"

Startled by the costume, Ginny took a step away from him. _Dance?_ she thought. _No, I'm going to dance with Harry tonight. _But Harry wasn't there. In fact, Hermione and Ron had dissapeared and Harry was was talking to someone dressed as a large peacock- complete with a few too many feathers sprouting from their rear. Ginny felt herself flush. _There's goes _that _idea._

Without a second thought, she turned back to the dragon and extended her hand. "I would love to," she answered and allowed him to ead her onto the dance floor.

By then a band had begun to play, although they were masked too. Ginny couldn't recognise them, but swore they sounded fammiliar. Funny, how the harder she tried to remember where she'd heard them, the more she seemed to forget. They were playing a waltz, and suddenly Ginny started feeling nervous.She'd never really danced before except a few times with Bill when he was learning to impress the girls. She needn't have bothered, of course. All she had to do was follow her partner's lead. He was a _much_ better dancer than Neville and it almost felt natural as they glided across the floor.

"Do you dance much?" Ginny asked him as the song changed to a slower one. He slid both his arms around her waist, and so having no other place to put her arms, she awkwardly held his shoulders.

"I would often when I was younger," he said. "My parents made me take lessons. I hated it then, but in the end it was worth it, I guess."

"Oh." How was she supposed to answer that?

"You look beautiful tonight," he said after a moment's silence, pulling her closer to his chest (or maybe it was just Ginny's imagination.) "You should wear such nice things more often."

"How do you know what I normally wear?"

The dragon chuckled. "You normally wear Hogwarts robes like the rest of us but I haven't seen anyone who's caught my eye like you have tonight."

Ginny felt her face burn. "Well, you know those schoo, robes" she said, stifling a giggle. "They don't do much for the figure."

"Or the view," he laughed, twirling her around.

"Who are you?" she asked out of the blue as she settled back into his arms, suddenly concious of this stranger she was dancing with.

"You're supposed to wait until the end of the ball," he answered sounding surprised.

"I know, but can't I find out sooner?" she teased, knowing she sounded nosy.

"Will it make a difference?"

"No, not really, I don't think so..." she answered. _Liar,_ she thought to herself. _If this is really Colin or Neville, I think I'll be sick._ He shook his head. "Could you give me some clues?"

The dragon looked down at her for a moment, then smiled. "What house are you in?" he asked gently.

"Gryffindor," she answered softly.

"I'm not," he said. "What year are you in?"

"Fouth," she answered, even quieter than before.

"I'm not," he repeated. She shivered as she felt his hand fall lowever onto her back. He leaned towards her face and Ginny closed her eyes, anticipating what was about to happen-

"Would you like to sit and have a drink?"

_Drink?!_ Giinny's eyes snapped open, a flood of emotions ran through her. Dissapointment:_I thought he was going to kiss me... _Relief:_I thought he was going to kiss me! _Embarassment... but still, she nodded and wondered why she felt this way. She'd only just met him.

The dragon held out his elbow. Ginny took it and they made their way to the serving tables, browsing the cuisine.

"Ooh, olives," she heard him mutter as he threw three in his mouth.

"I've heard of those," Ginny said, picking up one of the round black things. "I've never tried them before."

"Well, taste one then," she was encouraged by his shoulder nudging hers. With a little hesitation, she popped it into her mouth.

"Urgh!" she groaned. After scouring the table for a napkin, she spat it out and threw it away.

"It's an _aquired_ taste," the dragon drawled mockingly which for some reason made Ginny feel suddely defensive.

"Well, it's only the first time I tried it," she answered quietly.

"In that case, would you like another?" He teased, eating a few more himself. "Maybe you'll aquire it on the second try?"

"Er, no thanks," she decided, grinning. "I'm just going to have a pasty."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Now I have olive breath. I'll have some butterbeer... Would you like some?"

"Yes please," Ginny chirped, happy the mood had lifted. She watched him step into a line-up near a table with two goblets when she heard a grunt behind her. Wheelinga round, Ginny found herself face to face with two people who were dressed as a troll and gargoyle. She wrinkled her nose. These lumbering idiots certainly fit the parts.

"Pansy," the troll said. "Where's Draco?"

"Pansy?" Ginny asked, unsure if he was addressing her. "I'll have you know that I'm _no _pansy..."

"Where did Draco go?" the gargoyle repeated.

"Draco? What are you talking about?"

"Pansy, you were just dancing with him!"

"And they think _we're_ stupid," the troll muttered to his friend.

"I'm not Pansy!" Ginny suddenly realised who they were talking about a pug-faced Slytherin fifth year she remembered hearing Ron make fun of because she was always hanging around with-

"Then why was Draco dancing with _you_?" the gargoyle pondered out loud.

The troll looked around the dance floor. "Where's Pansy? And who are you?"

Ginny clenched her fists at her sides. "That is none of your buisness,"she articulated menacingly and stomped away to a secluded table on the other end of the hall. Sitting down, she rested her head in her hands unable to believe what she'd just learned. Those two in the ugly costumes must have been Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, those two oafs that were always hanging around with Malfoy... and they thought she was Pansy because she'd been _dancing_ with him.

"Hey, are you alright? Why are you here? Look, about the olives I-"

Ginny looked up to see the dragon standing before her holding two filled goblets. _Of course, a dragon. Count on Malfoy to be so self-absorbed. Only _he'd _have a costume that has to do with his name._

"-didn't mean it like that. They're just olives, really. Would you..." his voice dropped to a whisper. "Would you still like to dance?"

Ginny looked up at him for a moment. "Why do you care, really?" This was beyond olives now. "There are so many other girls to dance with here, why do you care if you hurt one's feelings? You don't know who I am."

"How do you know that?" he asked in monotone.

"You don't know me at all."

"No, I don't know you."

Ginny downed her drink in one gulp. "Yes."

Draco startled. "Yes what?"

Ginny held out her hand and gave a small smile. "I'd still like to dance with you." _I just don't understand why._

An authentic smile spread across his face and he gently took her hand, holding it for a moment before he put down his still full goblet and leading her to dance.

_Those are Draco Malfoy's arms around my waist._

_That's Draco Malfoy holding me._

_Malfoy. Malfoy. Malfoy_

_MalfoyMalfoyMalfoyMalfoyMalfoy._

Every step pounded the truth in her ears. He'd spin her around during a fast song and for a moment it'd give her a thrill, but then she'd remember who she was with. She wanted to enjoy herself, but couldn't. She _was _enjoying herself, but it made her feel as though she was committing some crime. It was complicated, and what made it worse was that he held her gently like he knew something was wrong. If only he knew...

Ginny felt her stomach turn when Professor Dumbledore stood at the head table. It seemed that the headmaster too had worn a costume, although he hadn't worn a mask to hide his identity.

"The night has come to an end-" he began. Ginny could hardly believe that the ball had gone so fast. It had just started so well and then... "-and it looks as though we have all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves." The Great Hall applauded. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he continued. "First, I would like to thank our mystery performers for an excellent show. Perhaps you'd like to reveal your secret identities?" They nodded and the hall burst into amazed cheers as the band called _Bad Karma_ left the stage. "Now," Dumbledore continued. "To the part most of us have been waiting for. You may now unveil your masks!"

He'd said the magic words they'd all been waiting for, and suddenly it was the last last thing Ginny wanted to hear. She'd imagined herself pulling off her mask as soon as the headmaster gave the word, just like the many people around her. Ginny was completely oblivious to the shreiks and whoops of surprise that wre going on. All she was focused on was the person in fornt of her. The dragon hadn't removed his mask either.

Ginny was happy that everyone else was too involved in thier own affairs to notice them. And how close they were standing together. The dragon smiled, raising a hand to the side of her face and edge of her mask.

"May I?" he asked. Ginny nodded shakilly. In an agonizingly slow motion, the dragon lightly tapped her mask with his wand whispering _'Finite Incantum' _and it fell right into his hands. He looked at it for a few moments before looking up at Ginny's revealed face.

_Don't blush, damn it, don't blush. _That was it. She shut her eyes and braced herself for the dreaded reaction that was sure to come when he learned he'd been dancing with a _Weasley._

You can imagine her surprise when she felt his arm encircle her waist.

"I like you best with red hair," he breathed as he ran his lips over her ear and pushed a white strand away. Ginny's eyes opened in complete shock. The dragon... Draco just bowed and walked away, dissapeared into the crowd.

_He didn't even take off his mask_, she thought, half angrilly.

And it was only as she was hanging her costume up in her wardrobe did she realise that he still had hers.

Special thanks to those who reviewed chapter two and gave me the motivation to keep writing: Rebecca, tennis, no idea, Sunshine, AthenaetVenus, GoddessofRainbows, Clem&Co., Hermione A. Snape, Ophie, Lulu, pheonixGrl***, and phoenix girl.

**Julise: **"is ginny going to end up spending all her time with draco at the dance and not know who he was???? that would be really cool!!!!" - Well, it kind of turned another way, didn't it? Should make for an _interesting_ confrontation next chapter...

**medea: **"is harry gonna fall for ginny?? if he duz make her break his heart and get with draco... sorry but i don't like harry for being mean to ginny... " - I don't know if I'm going to make this a Harry/Ginny/Draco triangle yet. I know that really have a good set up for it, but I think I just might make a lot of serious crushing on Ginny's part... Lots of anger from Ron in either case, and a swearing!angry!Ron is always a good laugh!

**prefer not to say: "**in response to your summary it might not be the guy not noticing or caring, it might be that he's too shy to say that he cares or embaressed at showing his feelings or it could be he's scared of trying since he doesn't know for sure if you like him. I should know cause thats how I am." - Aw, that was nice to share.. are you an H/G shipper! (No, no, please don't egg this reviewer D/G shippers.) A few people actually kind of misinterpretted what I meant in the summary. You see, this is something Draco says at the end of chapter one. Someone mentioned it sounded slashy, and I was sorry to dissapoint them. He was referring to his father when he said _"I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."_ Ginny just didn't know it at the time. It'll come.

**AliEnChiCk: **"Very well written, not TOO much fluff too quickly; that can get annoying. You've got it down perfectly. What will happen in the next chapter? Will Ginny take Harry's advice and become an angel?" - ell, I guess so, eh? I dislike to quick fluff as well and I think this fic is going to be a bit more lengthly then I planned... I do have a plot in mind, though! Woohoo!

**Weirdest Review: **"This old man! He played tick-tack on my chin!!" from **split personalities we are**. Um, thanks for reviewing. 


	4. No Regrets

**Title:** Angel Standing By (Walk Away)**  
Author:** Amanda Mancini (_thefreakygeek@hotmail.com_)**  
Rating:** PG-13 **  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Summary:** "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."   
**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Publishers, and Warner Bros. The song _Angel Standing By _belongs to Jewel. Idea of 'grunge style robes' for the Weird Sisters is from Heidi's _Surfeit of Curses _and used without permission. No profit is being made from this piece of fanfiction.  
**Author's Note:**Dedicated to Sabrina Rosa Rodin, still my favourite cousin, as well as all the members of DracoGinnyFanfic and Penumbra_fic for their help and support.  


Angel Standing by _(Walk Away)  
_Chapter III: No regrets

Ginny opened her eyes, yawned, and pushed away the heavy bed covers when the realization hit her.

Christmas.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stumbled to the foot of her bed and the pile of gifts resting there. From the bits of torn wrapping paper littering the floor of the empty dorm, she was right in assuming her room mates had already left.

Optimistically, Ginny smiled to herself as she picked up a lumpy package from the top of the pile, already knowing what was inside. A second later she found herself looking a one of her mother's infamous Weasley jumpers, her mind suddenly jumping to her brother and how much he hated them. If Ron really hated maroon so much, he could have just asked mum to change the color. Last year, Ginny had been laughed at because of the pink jumper her mother had sent. For this year, she'd politely asked for another color and was now happy to see that she'd received a soft white sweater instead of a pink one. Ginny changed out of her pajamas and pulled on her sweater along with the skirt of her robes. Looking in the mirror, she couldn't help but be reminded of Christmas... of snow. Along with the jumper, she found a tin box which actually felt _cold_. Opening it, she realised that it was actually refrigerating several pieces of her mother's cheesecake. Her mouth watered, but Ginny figured she'd be better of saving them for a rainy day. She hid them in the wardrobe behind a stack of boxes where she was sure no one would find them.

She was surprised to pull a _very_ heavy rectangular gift from the pile. '_Hey Gin_,' the card read. _'I remember you looking at this in Hogsmeade a while ago and hope you haven't read it yet. I can change it if you want. It's from Bill, Charlie, and Percy too. Happy Christmas! Love from Ron." _Ripping open the parcel, she found herself staring at Journey of the Auror, all 4792 and 12/47 s of it. Hardcover and fully and magically illustrated. No wonder all of her brothers had pitched in for it: it had been _incredibly _expensive when _she _last saw it.

Ginny grunted as she picked it up and placed it on her bed, which sagged under it's weight. Although she was sorely tempted to begin reading but she still wanted to open her other gifts.

With that one unwrapped , her pile had become much smaller with only three packages left. She picked up the medium sized one which turned out to be a journal from her father with beautiful azure butterflies flying about the picture on the cover. _'Merry Christmas Ginny,' _he'd written on the first page. _'I saw this and thought of you. It won't write back but it can still keep your secrets. Love Daddy.' _Enclosed were instructions on how to teach the butterflies to recognize passwords.

Pushing away memories of her first year, Ginny shifted her attention to the largest of the boxes remaining and shook it.

_Hmm... Sounds awfully full... I wonder who it's from?_

Anxiously she opened the box but before she could get a look at what was inside, a deafening **BOOM **exploded from within it, covering her surroundings and herself in soot.

"FRED! GEORGE!" hollered Ginny at the top of her lungs, wiping black ash from her eyes. An overdose of cheering charms couldn't have made her brothers laugh any harder. They stumbled into her dorm room at the sound of the explosion (even though boys weren't allowed there) and Ginny glared accusingly at them.

"Merry Christmas!" they exclaimed loudly as they smothered her in a bone crushing monster hug before she could scold them.

"Did you like our present?" asked George. "You're the first person to have ever received a Weasley Whopper Whizzing Rocket!"

"Rocket?!" Ginny roared, muffled by her brother's elbow (yes, elbow.) "That thing almost killed me before I could get a look at it!

"No! Really?" George sounded disappointed. Fred's arms fell to his sides.

"Bollocks!" he swore. "We worked on that one for four months!"

"Too many salamander scales?" George suggested.

"Probably," his twin answered. "Ah well, thanks for telling is Ginny. When we perfect it, we'll get you another."

"Um.. uh... sure..." _Why not? A rocket could be useful. _Looking down and seeing the state of her new sweater, which was now charcoal gray, Ginny sighed inwardly and tried to brush herself off.

"So, did you open all of your presents yet?" Fred asked. George noticed his sister's useless attempts at tidying her clothing and tapped her forehead with his wand. Suddenly, with a noise that resembled a belch, Ginny actually _saw_ the soot disappear from her sweater, hands, and tip of her nose. Smiling graciously, Ginny guessed that the spell was probably very handy for the twins when they'd been working on new gags.

"Yes," she answered Fred, grateful that he'd taken interest. "Wanna see?"

"Well I don't know... we're not supposed to be in the girls' dorms..." the red haired twin wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Ginny elbowed him to get that ridiculous expression off his face.

"The others won't be coming back anytime soon." She pointed out the different gifts she'd received that were now sitting on her bed.

"Whoa, George! Check out the size of this book!" George exclaimed upon noticing Journey of the Auror. "It's massive!"

Fred poked at it exaggeratedly. "Are you taking up body building, Gin?"

"No!" Ginny slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. Of course _they'd _think that's why she'd get such a large book. "I was going to _read_ it."

"Thinking about being an auror, then?" George asked innocently. Flushing, Ginny mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What was that?" Fred teased.

"Don't tell mum."

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled understandingly. "Don't worry, we won't. So long as you don't tell mum about Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. We're both in the same boat." Her brothers had almost walked out the door when George pointed out a small package at the foot of her bed.

"You forgot one," he said. Ginny picked it up, the package fitting in the palm of her hand.

"Open it! Open it!" urged Fred annoyingly. The twins stared over her shoulders - literally. Their chins dug in her shoulders and made it hard to move her arms. They oohed and ahhed as she unwrapped the jewelry box to reveal a delicate gold chain on which there was a gold ring. On the front face of the ping was a beautiful flower composed of different sized rubies and diamonds, and engraved into the ring next to it, a symbol that resembled an 'M'.

"What's that M thing?" Fred asked curiously?

"It's the symbol of Virgo," Ginny answered breathlessly. "That's my zodiac sign..."

"Who sent you that?" George wondered out loud.

"I have no idea..." Ginny couldn't find a card.

"Ooh, it's shiny," Fred murmured.

"I want it."

"Can I have it?"

"No, can I?"

"Shut up George! I asked first!"

"I'm not George, you're George!"

"No, you are!"

How typical. Ginny rolled her eyes and pushed her bickering brothers off of her. They stopped, however, when they saw her put the necklace on and were considerate enough add in a few wolf whistles and cat calls.

_Brothers, _Ginny thought as she blushed, _who needs them?_

~

The holidays passed so slowly it was as if they were just trying to torture her. Things took a turn for the worst when Ginny had walked into her dorm room to find all the fourth year girls had 'found' a tin of cheesecake in the wardrobe, and since they all shared the wardrobe, they'd all share the cakes. Of course, there hadn't been a single crumb left for Ginny. Trying desperately to hold back the tears, Ginny had just walked away and acted like it didn't bother her.

Since then, she just found it easier to retreat to the common room with her book rather then deal with them. She knew no one would bother her there, what with her brothers around and all. She rarely left her chair by the fire unless she was eating in the Great Hall. Ron actually had the nerve to say she was becoming too much like Hermione.

Privately, Ginny wondered that if she'd be more like Hermione, would they pay more attention to her? It seemed like her fantasy that they'd all be 'friends' was short lived. They hadn't talked to her after the ball, not even _about_ it. They probably hadn't even noticed that-

That's when Ginny stopped herself.

Everytime she thought of the ball, she thought about _him_, and she tried to think as little about _him_ as possible. Even though it felt like she thought of _him_ all the time.

When school started in mid-January, it almost seemed like the Slytherins had gotten nastier They must have really hated being forced to stay at the school over the holiday, because by the end of it, they were almost going out of their way to cause trouble.That evening, there Ginny had been, standing in a crowd of Gryffindors when all of a sudden two people began pushing themselves through the crowd when they could have easily just walked around.

"Make way, coming through, move it!" The crowd divided and shuffled aside, grumbling. "Clear the way! MOVE!"

"Excuse me," a voice whispered into her ear. With a flash of silver blond, Ginny's hazel eyes locked onto a pair of silver ones. Draco gave a subtle smile as he put took her upper shoulders into his hands and pushed her out of the way, far more gently then he had the others. She felts his hands linger for a moment, but in a second he was gone, leading the other Slytherin he was with down towards the dungeons. Ginny looked around nervously and was thankful no one had noticed their exchange. Timidly, Ginny made her way back to Gryffindor Tower where she was inspired to take a look at that journal...

"Hey Ginny, what are you doing?"

"Writing in my journal?"

"I swear, you're becoming more of a bookworm every day," Ron shook his head in the disbelief of seeing his sister sitting in the common room with a book _again._"Why don't you go _do _something?"

"I _am_ doing something," Ginny answered as calmly as she could, her grip tightening on her quill.

"Well, somthing _fun_?"

"To me this _is_ fun, Ron. Leave me alone."

"Hey... What's that around your neck? Where'd you get that necklace?"

"None of your buisness."

"Ginny-"

"Just shut up!" she snorted sourly.

"Fine, be that way! You never want to talk-"

Furiously, Ginny snapped her diary shut and picked up her quill and inkwell. "_I_ never want to talk? Me?" She let out an exhasperated wheeze and just stormed out of the common room without wasting another word on her brother.

_Me? Never wanting to talk! Bloody git! I try, I really do! ... Way to go, Gin. Now everyone things you're a psychopath loner... Why can't he just leave me alone? If he doesn't want to be with me when his friends are around, he shouldn't use me when he's got no one else to talk to..._

Ginny, most of all, couldn't reason why at one moment he didn't care, and the next he was sticking his nose in her buisness. Quite frankly, she'd rather he ignore her than be so nozy.

Of course, now Ginny had to find a new place to write and the Great Hall and the Library were out of the question since Ron would find her there, not to mention it was getting awfully late. Remembering her prankster brothers, she made her way to the kitchens and was thankful the Fred and George had let her in on it's secret. She was surprised to be greeted by several house elves once the portrait of fruit closed behind her. They all looked up at her eagerly.

"Erm.. can I have some... cheese please?" She blushed imagning how foolish she must have sounded. The strange looking creatures didn't seem to notice. "What kinds, miss? Squares or slices? Would you likes a drink, miss?"

"Oh..." she hadn't expected for the to be so much choice. "Swiss, please. Slices. With some pumpkin juice?" They nodded and were off in a flash. Ginny looked around awkwardly, unused to having people do things for her like that. She walked to the other side of the room and sat down on the floor against the wall, near a warm wood stove. The house elves returned in a matter of seconds unveiling a silver platter with her 'order'. Thanking them heartilly, she popped a slice in her mouth, opened her journal, dipped her quill in her inkwell and began to write.

_'... Life's a lot like swiss cheese, I think. It tastes good but it's filled with holes and no one knows how they got there. And those holes waste valuable cheese space...'_

Ginny smiled at the funny little drabble and had another bite of her snack. _I like cheese.. it's certainly better than-"_

"Fetch me some olives." Ginny was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of someone speaking. _All I wanted was some privacy. If they followed me..._

_Yuck. Olives. Wait... I know that voice..._

Looking up from her corner, Ginny found herself staring at the Slytherin who she'd collided with that afternoon. She was thankful he couldn't see her.

"We be just a second. Is you sitting with miss?"

"With whom?"

Ginny groaned and cursed the elf who just pointed her out. Malfoy wheeled around and looked genuinely shocked when he saw her there.

"Ginny..." Suddenly, he recomposed himself, smirking. The sudden change of face startled the Gryffindor. "If it isn't little Weasley. What are you doing up this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"You're right, you could," he said. "I didn't expect to find you here. Potter and your brother, maybe, but not you. Or are they here hiding under that bleeding invisiblity cloak?"

"Invisibility cloak?!" Ginny dropped her journal in surprise.

"Never mind," Draco chuckled as he nodded his head towards the book on the floor. "What's that?"

"It's a... a journal," Ginny mumbled as she picked it up with a tight grip so there'd be no way he could snatch it from her. "I came here for some privacy."

"It's hard to find privacy in this school," Draco said solemnly. "There's always someone trying to get in your buisness."

It was at that moment a house elf arrived with a bowl. Draco took it from the creature without even looking in it's direction. The elf bowed and dissapeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

"Well, I suppose I should get going," he said. His face, as always, was expressionless, but his voice seemed to give away a hint of reluctance. Ginny could hardly believe it, or what she found herself saying next.

"You don't _have_ to leave yet."

_I can't believe I just said that._

Draco looked at her for a moment as if weighing his options, but then walked towards her and down next to her on the floor.

And then there was silence. The awkward annoying kind.

"Can I have an olive?" Ginny asked, just to break it.

"I thought you said you didn't like them," he answered. Ginny whipped her head and looked at him and Draco's eyes widened in fear. He'd just given himself, and the ball, away, and Ginny knew it.

"It's an aquired taste," she answered with a straight face as she threw the olive in her mouth and swallowed it. It still tasted horrible, but this time she was able to hide it.

"Uh..."

It was the first time Ginny had ever seen Draco speechless. She didn't quite know what to make of it, so she just looked at him patiently, and waited for the words to come.

"I knew it was you for the most part," she said after a few minutes, surprised at her own courage. "Those boys who are aways with you, Crabbe and Goyle, they though I was Pansy Parkinson and came to talk to me while you were getting drinks."

"Idiots," me mumbled under his breath.

"Why?" she asked sharply. "You didn't want me to find out?"

"Not like that," he answered, lifting his gaze to meet her eyes.

"Do you regret it?" Ginny's voice returned to it's calm state.

"I never regret anything I do," he replied, hs eyes never leaving hers. Without warning, he raised his hand, lifted her chin and kissed her affectionately on the mouth. The world blurred, and Ginny closed her eyes to keep herself thinking straight. It wasn't bad at all, she thought. Not at all like her mother had explained the hormone crazed attempts of teenage boys. Gently, Draco pulled way ever so slightly.

"Except," he began, his voice low, "that I lost my nerve and didn't do that at the end of the ball. That I _do_ regret."

Ginny shakily opened her eyes, partially surprised at what she'd heard. But only partially. Afterall, she remembered, hadn't she _also_ at times hoped he'd kiss her during the ball?

"Do you visit the kitchens a lot?" he asked, as he changed positions and was now sitting at her side again, only a little closer, so that his shoulder was touching hers. It was a simple question.

"No, this was my first time."

"Mine too," he admitted. "But maybe I should come here more often."

I thank you, the readers, and invite you to leave a review with what you think or if you have any suggestions. I could always use some ideas....

Special thanks to the reviewers of Chapter III: **dreamer_girl**, **sakura**, **summer_thyme**, **Lily Shouk**, **HD luvs TY-kun**, **Ninsetta Tristel Sundar**, **Gemini Mari Finnalle**, **Evlasha**, **Euterpe**, **princess of mordor**, ***~*Eiez*~***, **_Aurora de la Noche_**, **Jaxx**, **~AngelFairy~**, **Rebecca**, **HPReader4L**, **Ann H Lin**, **jelly bean**, **Nayanya potter**. 


	5. Author's Note

**Title:** Angel Standing By (Walk Away)**  
Author:** Amanda Mancini (_thefreakygeek@hotmail.com_)**  
Rating:** PG-13 **  
Genre:** Romance/Drama**  
Summary:** "I know exactly what it's like to try to make someone notice you, to wish they'd just give you a little praise to show they cared. But no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, he'll never notice, and he'll never care."   
**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Publishers, and Warner Bros. The song _Angel Standing By _belongs to Jewel. Idea of 'grunge style robes' for the Weird Sisters is from Heidi's _Surfeit of Curses _and used without permission. No profit is being made from this piece of fanfiction.  
**Author's Note:**Dedicated to Sabrina Rosa Rodin, still my favourite cousin, as well as all the members of DracoGinnyFanfic and Penumbra_fic for their help and support.

I honestly apologise, for I wanted this to be longer. I had a semi-plan going, but it just didn't work out. This project will be continued eventually, when more of a plot is develloped. I actually have 12 pages of the next chapter handwritten, but it's not going anywhere yet. I may post it eventually for fluff's sake. Until then, may I present to you the song that inspired it all. May it leave you with happy previsions.

Angel Standing By  
_written and sung by Jewel_

All through the night I'll be standing over you  
All through the night I'll be watching over you

And through bad dreams I'll be right there, baby,  
Holding your hand, telling you everything is all right

And when you cry I'll be right there  
Telling you you were never anything less than beautiful

So don't you worry  
I'm your angel standing by   


Again, thank you to all of my reviewers! I hope they'll be able to enjoy my future fics as well. 


End file.
